Performing and Visual Arts Opens Impressive Fall Line-up

Published: September 21, 2011 |
Category: Arts

As Southern Utah University continues on into the fall 2011 semester, the College of Performing & Visual Arts (CPVA) opens a schedule of entertainment that will take its audience around the globe, with performances inspired by works from England, Russia, China and the U.S. And the line-up is in full swing.

Early on, the Department of Theatre Arts will perform what is considered by directors and scholars as William Shakespeare’s “most un-stageable play,” King Lear. This play that shines light on greed, lust, sibling rivalries and adultery will be directed by SUU’s Theatre Arts and Dance co-director, Peter Sham.

“Our goal is to create a production…in both design and concept, that is clear and immediate to audiences of today while illuminating the darkest corners of humanity, and to that end, SUU’s adaptation promises several surprises never before seen in any production of King Lear in history,” Sham says.

King Lear will run Sept. 29-30 and Oct. 1, 3 and 7-8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Adams Shakespearean Theatre.

For visual arts enthusiasts, the Braithwaite Gallery will run its Soviet Era Art: 1917-1991 Exhibit through November 19, which includes an incredible retrospective of Russian art from the last century.

With two musical performances already successfully closed this semester, the music department will continue both hosting and performing in productions throughout the semester and academic year through the Music Masterworks and Satellite Salon Series.

From American classics to music inspired by the “Lord of the Rings,” SUU’s Wind Symphony will start off this season’s Music Masterworks Series with a uniquely diverse. Under the direction of Dr. Douglas Harris, the symphony is set to perform Tuesday, October 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Cedar City’s Heritage Theatre. The evening will mark Harris’ directorial debut, and he has selected a wide range of music, from Aaron Copland’s “Down a Country Lane,” to Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Fantasia in G Major.” The College will also be hosting the Chinese Opera Orchestra of Shanghai on Sept. 23 in the Thorley Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. This recently formed group strives to preserve and renew traditional Chinese music by making it accessible to people of all ages. Audiences will also be introduced to traditional Chinese instruments such as erhu, guzheng, pipa, sheng and many more.

With much, much more in its 2011-12 lineup, music, dance, theatre and art enthusiasts alike are all encouraged to keep in touch with CPVA happenings online at suu.edu/pva/arts or through the ticket office: 435-586-7872.

The Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery is free and open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays, from Noon to 7 p.m.

Admission guidelines for theatre, music and dance performances vary. Generally, all are free to SUU students, with reduced ticket prices for much of the campus and local communities.